Reflective Writing 5
The truth is the one element that can change a human. According to Victor Hugo as he writes in Les Miserables, "Justice had sprung from revenge." Hugo clearly exemplified the prosecutor's lie to the woman. As the prosecutor lied to the woman, she feels she was being used. By getting revenge against her lover, she condems herself and her lover at the sametime. The prosecutor gained what he wanted by using lies and the revenge method.
The justice in Les Miserables is a good example of revenge. For the most part, when you want something that deals with justice, you have to do anything to achieve it. This is what the prosecutor did. He used a lie to get what he wanted. Even though it was unethical, the lie resulted in a good effect-Justice prevailed.
An Excerpt from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
One day he heard the story of a criminal case to be tried. A poor man-out of love for a woman and their child-had been making counterfeit coins, his real money gone. (At that time, counterfeitng was punishable by death.) The woman was arrested for passing the first piece he made. She was held in prison, but there was no proof against her lover. She alone could testify against him and, if she did, would risk losing him. She denied his guilt and would not change her story. Frustrated, the king's prosecutor made a plan. He told her the man was unfaithful and produced pieces of some forged letters. Filled with jealousy, the woman denounced the man and confessed everything. Now he was to be tried along with her in a few days. The story was told and retold, and everyone was delighted by the prosecutor's clever trick. By bringing jealousy into play, he used anger to produce the truth. Justice had sprung from revenge. The bishop listened to the story in silence; then he asked,
"Where are the man and woman to be tried?"
"At the Superior Court."
"And where is the king's prosecutor to be tried?"
return to Reflective Menu